U.S. Soccer Wire - April 10, 2006

NewsApr 10, 2006

U.S. MNT Set For Jamaica Match on Tuesday in Cary, N.C.; WNT To Play Two May Games vs. Japan

ARENA TAKES 18 PLAYERS TO CARY: The U.S. team arrived in Cary, N.C., throughout the day on Sunday (April 9) and now must quickly gel with only one training session in advance of Tuesday night’s sold-out clash with Jamaica at SAS Soccer Park (7 p.m. ET, live on ESPN2, ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker). The USA’s seventh match of 2006 will be their last prior to U.S. Manager Bruce Arena naming the 23-man roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. After the match against Jamaica, the U.S. will begin their final FIFA World Cup training camp on May 10, also in Cary, before departing for the Send-Off Series matches in late May. The three-game Send-Off Series, the last matches prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, will begin vs. Morocco at The Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn., on May 23, presented by Budweiser, before continuing vs. Venezuela at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, presented by Sierra Mist, and concluding vs. Latvia at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., on May 28, presented by Hyundai. Tickets are on sale now at ussoccer.com and all local Ticketmaster outlets. All three matches kick off at 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN2 and delayed on Telemundo. Fans can also follow the action live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

U.S. WOMEN FACE JAPAN TWICE IN MAY: The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will travel to Japan for a pair of matches in early May, facing Japan on May 7 in Kumamoto and again on May 9 in Osaka. It will be the USA’s first games since the 2006 Algarve Cup in March. Both games are in southern Japan, with Kumamoto located on the most southern island of Kyushu and Osaka on the main island of Honshu. The matches in Japan will mark the eighth and ninth games of the year for the U.S. women, all of which have been played abroad, before they come home to play the first domestic contest in July. The U.S. team will begin a slew of domestic matches this summer starting with a game against Sweden on July 15 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., live at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2 (tickets). The U.S. team will then take on Canada on July 30 at SAS Soccer Park live at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and Telemundo (tickets). More matches will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

U.S. SOCCER CONDUCTING FAN SURVEY ONLINE AT ussoccer.com: In a continuing effort to improve ussoccer.com, U.S. Soccer is asking fans to take part in an online survey. The survey consists of questions to determine your satisfaction with ussoccer.com’s components and features, while also providing you with the opportunity to give direct feedback about the site. The information compiled from the survey will allow U.S. Soccer to make improvements to the site and deliver an enhanced experience for fans on ussoccer.com. Similar to past years, the survey can be accessed from ussoccer.com and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Fans over the age of 18 who complete the survey will be eligible to enter into a random drawing to win a prize pack from U.S. Soccer, containing an assortment of national team gear. Participants under the age of 18 are still encouraged to complete the survey. In late January, U.S. Soccer unveiled the latest evolution of ussoccer.com, which gives fans more information on all the U.S. National Teams, referee programs and coaching education. It also includes new or improved components, such as MatchTracker, the Photo Gallery and Audio Podcast sections, and all_access Video, which fans can now enjoy on the U.S. Soccer Video Network, brought to you by Panasonic. These improvements were a direct result of the information gathered from previous surveys conducted over the past few years. To access the survey, please visit ussoccer.com.

– YOUTH NATIONAL TEAMS UPDATE –

U-17 ’90 MNT HEADS TO ENGLAND AND IRELAND DURING MONTH OF APRIL: The U.S. Under-17 ’90 Men’s National Team will head to England for a 10-day training camp before jumping across the Irish Sea to participate in the Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland over the next month. The U.S. will leave for Manchester, England, on April 12, and play four matches, including an international against Wales on April 20 in Ryhl, Wales. The U.S. will also face a Northern England Select Team and youth squads from English Premier League teams Liverpool and Wigan Athletic. The U-17 ‘90s will leave for Northern Ireland on April 23, and will kick off Group A of the Ballymena International Tournament a day a later against Switzerland. The U.S. will also face Finland on April 25 and Northern Ireland on April 26 in Group A play, before playing a placement match on April 28 against one of the four teams from Group B – Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic and Scotland. The rosters for the trips to England and Northern Ireland will be announced in the near future.

U-17 ’89 MNT HOST THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA:While the U-17 '90 Men's National Team heads overseas during the month of April, the U-17 '89s will continue to practice at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. At this time, their only scheduled match is against the University of North Carolina on April 14.

U.S. U-20 FINISHES PORTLAND CAMP UNDEFEATED IN FIVE GAMES:The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team finished off its training camp in Portland, Ore., with three more wins, going 5-0-0 against five college teams during the camp. After defeating Washington State, 3-0, on April 1 and the University of Washington, 4-3, on April 2, the USA picked up a 1-0 win on April 4 against defending NCAA champion University of Portland, 1-0, on a late goal from forward Jessica Rostedt. The USA then finished the camp with a 4-1 win against Oregon State on April 6 and a 4-0 win over Ohio State on April 8. Against the Beavers, 17-year-old Stanford-bound forward Kelley O’Hara scored twice, while forward Brittany Taylor and Lauren Cheney added single scores. Against the Buckeyes, Cheney scored twice, while midfielder Tina DiMartino added one goal and Jordan Angeli finished the scoring with a strike from distance. O’Hara, who is coming off minor knee surgery, scored four goals in the five games in Portland while Rostedt and Cheney had three each. Danesha Adams and DiMartino had two goals each. The U-20s return to action with a trip to Brazil in mid-April that will feature the first international matches for the young U.S. squad since the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in late January.

U.S. U-17 WNT GOES “CAMPING” IN FLORIDA:U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team head coach Erica Walsh has brought 19 players to a training camp in Sunrise, Fla., that will run from April 8-15, 2006. The U-17s will play several scrimmages during the week, including a match against Florida Atlantic University on April 11 at FAU at 7 p.m. ET. This training camp will mark the third event of the year for the U-17 women.

U.S. U-16 GIRL’S NATIONAL TEAM HEADS TO HOLLAND FOR THREE MATCHES:U.S. Under-16 Girl’s National Team head coach Kazbek Tambi took an 18-player roster to Holland for a three-match tour that began April 8. It will be the first matches abroad for the U-16s this year. They have held two domestic training camps at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., thus far. The USA will play two teams from the Dutch Women’s Premier League as well as Holland’s U-19 Women’s National Team. The first game is April 11 against Seastum, followed by a match on April 13 vs. the Dutch U-19s before the tour finishes with a game against RVVH on April 15. The U-16s are coming off two matches against the German U-17s at The Home Depot Center, a 3-0 loss and a dramatic 2-1 victory on an 88th minute game-winner.

DOUBLE FOR DAMARCUS:DaMarcus Beasley helped PSV hoist their second consecutive Dutch Eredivisie trophy Sunday afternoon, setting up Jefferson Farfan's equalizer 90 seconds after the interval to hand Eindhoven a 1-1 draw with FC Groningen and the point they needed to secure the title. Beasley already has three pieces of Dutch silverware in his collection after only two seasons in Holland, and also holds the honor as the only U.S. player to appear in a Champions League semifinal, a feat he accomplished last spring against AC Milan. PSV are in the hunt for their second straight 'double' as well, preparing to face Ajax on May 7 in the Dutch Cup final.

U.S. EUROS BACK IN ACTION:The bright spot in Manchester City's 2-1 loss to Tottenham on Saturday (April 8) was the return to action of U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, who's third stint on the injured reserve list this year thankfully proved to be a short one. Reyna had missed three matches after injuring his shoulder on March 18 against Wigan, and put in 79 minutes of work Saturday at White Hart Lane. Manchester City sit in the bottom half of a densely packed mid-table in the EPL, their 40 points from 33 matches keeping them 12 ahead of the relegation fighters, and conversely only eight points behind seventh-place Bolton. Meantime in Germany, Hannover vice-captain Steve Cherundolo has shaken off a calf injury that kept him out of two contests to go the distance in their 0-0 draw at FSV Mainz. The point keeps Hannover just under the midway line in the Bundesliga table, equidistant at eight points between the relegation zone and a UEFA Cup spot. Mainz striker Conor Casey started his second straight match after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the 2005 Gold Cup last July.

ALBERT HARKER, LAST LIVING 1934 U.S. WORLD CUP MEMBER, DIES AT 95:Albert Harker, the last living member of the U.S. 1934 World Cup team, died on Monday (April 3) at age 95 in Pennsylvania. Harker, born April 11, 1910, was a member of the 1979 U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame class. He was a member of the Philadelphia German-American teams that won the 1933 and 1934 U.S. Amateur Cup and the 1936 U.S. Open Cup. With the Philadelphia German-American's, Harker won the American Soccer League title in 1935, winning it again in 1942, 1944 and 1947 as Philadelphia Americans. He also captured the ASL Lews Cup in 1941 and 1943 with the Americans.

SPECTOR EARNS TEAM OF THE WEEK HONORS:U.S. defender Jonathan Spector made the Opta Team of the Week at right back after helping Charlton Athletic to a 0-0 draw against Everton this past weekend in the English Premier League. Spector, who was loaned to Charlton from Manchester United in 2005, normally plays left back, but slotted over to right back to replace the injured Luke Young. With Young injured, Spector will have the opportunity to add to his 11 league starts this year for Charlton as he makes a bid for the USA’s World Cup roster. The Opta Index quantifies each player's contribution to matches, by allocating points for every touch of the ball. Each player's match points are added, and then divided by the number of minutes played, to give them an Index rating score.

*** “CENTER CIRCLE” SPOTLIGHT ***

PEAK PERFORMER:U.S. MNT midfielder DaMarcus Beasley is doing alright for himself for having just two seasons of Eredivisie experience. The 24-year-old collected his third piece of hardware with club PSV Eindhoven, getting the assist in the 1-1 tie with FC Groningen on Sunday (April 9). The draw earned the point PSV needed to clinch the title for the second straight year.

MARQUEE MATCHUP:MLS-based U.S. MNT players will have one last chance to make their case for inclusion on the USA’s 2006 FIFA World Cup roster on Tuesday as the U.S. MNT faces Jamaica at 7 p.m. ET in Cary, N.C. Fans will also see U.S. goalkeeping great, Tony Meola, earn his 100th cap live on ESPN2 and via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

SOCCER SHOCKER:Former Brazilian National Team striker Romario was presented last week with the jersey of his new club: USL First Division expansion team Miami FC. The 40-year-old forward, who helped lead Brazil to the 1994 FIFA World Cup championship and earned the Golden Ball at the tournament, will kick off the season with his new side at 4 p.m. on April 23 at Tropical Park Stadium in Miami.

QUOTABLE:"Tony Meola has had an outstanding career for the national team with three World Cups to his credit, as well as 11 years in MLS. It's an honor for me and U.S. Soccer to recognize Tony's achievements in our sport by watching him earn his 100th cap for his country. We look forward to a special evening and recognizing Tony for an illustrious career."-- U.S. MNT Manager Bruce Arena on goalkeeper Tony Meola earning his 100th cap for the full U.S. MNT against Jamaica on Tuesday in Cary, N.C.

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